Jumanji and Monster
by fangsallmine1123
Summary: The simplest things. They remind Fang of her. They make Max want him back. Always, always the simplest things. Like Jumanji and Monster. Post-Fang. Fax. One-shot. [Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride. All rights reserved to James Patterson. No infringement or copyright intended.]


**Jumanji and Monster**

**A/N: I'm going to be honest: That's the title only because I couldn't think of anything else. And the summary sucks, so I'm surprised you're checking this out at all! But welcome!**

**It's just going to be a one-shot. I was going to make it a two-shot, but I just squeezed it all into one. Yeah. Okay. Here goes. **

**IGGY AND ELLA ARE NOT TOGETHER IN THIS STORY. You have been warned. I don't want to see any reviews saying, "Iggy would never do that to Ella! Ugh!" So, yeah. ****IGGY IS SINGLE.**

**NO MAYA. ****NO MAYA**** IN THIS STORY.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride, Monster, or Jumanji. Or Nike. Or Neosporin. **

**If you don't know what Monster or Jumanji is, jfgi. **

**If you don't know what Maximum Ride is…well, what the heck are you doing here? Go home, you're drunk. **

**Okay. **

**Summary: The simplest things. They remind Fang of her. They make Max want him back. Always, always the simplest things. Like Jumanji and Monster. Post-Fang. Fax. One-shot.**

[M]

I wonder if Fang sometimes thinks, "Man, I miss her."

Because I do.

I think that all the time.

Like, right now. I see the most mundane things, like a can of Monster. That's what I am looking at right now, in the check out line at the store.

I reach in to grab myself a Dr. Pepper, and see the energy drink on the small refrigerated shelf. Suddenly, after not thinking about him at all for, like, an hour (that's a long time these days), he is all I can seem to focus on. He is in mind my, memory after memory making me sick to my stomach.

I think of the time when Fang took Nudge with him into town; it was when we lived in the E house. It was ages ago. He and Nudge had gone out to get groceries and he'd bought her a Monster. He had no idea what it was, so when she asked for it he had just thought it was a jumbo soda or something. So she drank the entire thing in one sitting and didn't sleep for 48 hours. She also broke Fang's foot during an incident with a baseball bat and the TV.

I blink the memory out of my mind. We don't have days like that anymore. Fang isn't around to supply Nudge with Monsters, and no one else is dumb enough to let her anywhere near an energy drink.

"Is this it for you, dear?"

My head snaps up to focus on the fragile old man behind the counter. I nod, glancing down at the Nikes on the check-out counter and my bottled soda.

It is all because Gazzy needs new shoes. The kid, I swear to God, has never held on to a single personal-belonging for more than a week. Sooner or later, it always ended up broken, lost, or blown up. I guess I just can't have it all.

Anyways. He tried explaining to me what exactly happened to his newest pair of sneakers (cost me forty bucks at some shoe store at the mall, and now they look like road kill), but I hadn't really paid attention. Mostly I was just thinking, great. Another trip to the store. Again.

Currently, we are enjoying a carefree (read: homeless) lifestyle in South Carolina. A few months ago we'd gone rogue, leaving Mom's house for the glamorous life of scrounging for food in dumpsters and sleeping in the woods.

Needless to say, we are heading back to Arizona very, very, soon.

I don't mean to sound like a wimp, but what's the point of roughin' it when it's not necessary? We haven't been hunted in a while, so that was a plus.

Now, the others say they want to explore the U.S.A., just with our wings and our backpacks.

I'm not sure what I want anymore.

[F]

Here's what I want.

I want Ratchet to get the lead out of his ass.

I'm not asking for much.

My lame excuse of a flock follows me as I walk into the store. We're here for a few necessities. Apparently, these guys don't know how to _ration _while your on the _run_. Go figure.

"Just…go chill over there," I say, pointing toward the check out area where I could see a few benches. I do not need the five of them following me through the store, wreaking havoc.

What am I here for again?

Suddenly I don't even know, because I'm staring dumbly at a board game I haven't seen in ages: Jumanji.

Max and I used to play that game all the time.

It'd been the only game that Jeb had in the E house besides a deck of cards, and Max and I would play that game, and she'd pretend that we were in the movie…I can't tell you the first rule of that game for the life of me, but I can remember spending countless hours playing with Max. It was her favorite game.

God.

Now I am thinking about her, which I've been trying not to do these days. I mean, it's been months since I've seen them, and they've all no doubt forgotten about me by now. Dylan probably slipped into my place months ago. _Fang who_, am I right?

But I miss her. Man, I miss her.

_Focus_.

I move away from the games and toward my destination, which is health care. Ratchet has so kindly misplaced our First Aid Kit, and there is no way I can trust the five of them to not get hurt by messing around or beating each other up (ahem, Kate).

Then again, no one has really been after us for a while. I wonder if that's because the School is primarily after Max, and then I feel the same rush of regret that I've been feeling…an awful lot lately.

I scan the shelf, looking for price and not quality. Really, I can fix any injury with some Neosporin and a ripped-up t-shirt. It's just piece of mind to have antiseptic and gauze on hand in case someone needs it in the future.

The future.

Something I once thought had included Max.

Now I'm not so sure.

[M]

If there's one thing I'm sure of, it's that I hate shopping.

When we get back to our home sweet home (a cave, if you must know details) I am going to have to make it clear to Gazzy that I am not going to buy him any more new shoes this entire month.

So, he'll probably go barefoot for a few weeks.

I grab the box of sneakers off the counter and walk toward the bench where most of the others are sitting. Nudge is talking animatedly to Dylan, who is watching me. That's not creepy or anything. I hand Gazzy his shoes and he slips his sock-clad feet into them, tying the up tightly.

"Where are-" I stop as I spot Angel and Iggy talking to a teenage girl. She has long blonde hair and blue eyes. She's wearing a blue cardigan. "What are they doing?"

Without waiting for the others to answer, I walk over to them. I can hear Angel saying something along the lines of, "This is my big brother, James. He's blind, but I think he'd really like to meet you. Ever since-"

Oh, _seriously_? This again?

Iggy reaches forward and touches the girls shoulder, sweeping her hair back.

I swoop in just in time, before the poor girl actually falls for that bull crap. I kiss Iggy hard on the cheek, jerking his elbow roughly.

"Come on, _baby_. We're leaving," I said. I flash the confused looking girl a smile and yank Iggy after me. Angel trots along behind us after saying goodbye to the girl.

"What the hell, Iggy?" I chastise lowly.

Iggy ignores me. "Angel, I said we were hitting on _brunettes _today, not blondes. Focus."

Angel shrugs, nibbling on her finger nails.

"No! Iggy, you can't use Angel to pick up girls!" I glance down at Angel. "Why are you helping him?"

"He said I was sweeter and cuter than Gazzy, so I'd be a better wingman. Isn't that funny, Max? Wingman? 'Cause we have wings, get it?"

I press my hand to my forehead, groaning. "Yeah, I got it. Now, go." I jerk my thumb over my shoulder, motioning in the direction of the bench where the others are.

Before I can do anything else, I hear: "_Max_?"

Oh, my God.

[F]

God in Heaven. I never would've expected this shopping trip to end like this.

I check out rather quickly. The chick behind the counter seems to want to get out of there even faster than I do (surprising, I know), so she doesn't make small talk, which is a relief. I'm too distracted anyways.

While I'm standing there, I hear Ratchet say enthusiastically, "_Nice _kicks, man!"

Another voice, a familiar voice I haven't heard in weeks, replies, "Thanks! I _just _got them. Like, five seconds ago."

I yank my bag away from the cashier and spin around to see Ratchet and Kate talking to…the Gasman. The Gasman _and _Dylan.

"_Gazzy_?"

"Fang!"

"Fang?"

I turn again to see Nudge.

"Nudge?"

"Hey, Fang!"

Then Star comes over to us from behind me. "Okay, some blind guy just tried to hit on me, but then his girlfriend came over…awkward, am I right?"

Blind guy…

I turn around and see Angel waving at me. Her blonde curls are limp and her face smudged with dirt, but she still has the sweetest smile that makes my heart squeeze. Behind her, Iggy is deep in an argument with _her_.

Max.

"Girlfriend?" Gazzy snorts behind me. "As _if_. Iggy and Max? Nooo."

"Well, she called him baby!" Star insists. "What was I supposed to think?"

"She is _not _his girlfriend," I hear Dylan mutter.

"She's not yours either, so back off," Nudge retorts. Then she mumbles under her breath, "Horndog."

I smirk, still staring at her.

She's _here_.

Out of all places, she's here in a small grocery store in South Carolina. The last place I'd thought I'd see her again.

"_Max_?"

Max jerks her head up to stare at me. Her face says a lot of things, but I block out all the negative stuff and hold on to the one thing I see that stands out above all the rest.

Happiness.

I smile at her, because our situation is so screwed up and so ridiculous but I want her to know I miss her. Maybe she'll be able to read me.

She can.

She cocks her head and smiles back, her eyes swirling with good and bad vibes. She thumps Iggy on the head and hisses one last thing at him before stepping forward.

"Hey, Fang."

**A/N: So I was reading all these fanfictions where they run into each other and Max just beats the living shit out of him, so I decided to write one where…she doesn't. So yeah. Hope it isn't OOC or anything, but we all know Fang's much sappier in his head than he lets on, so admiting he misses her a few times shouldn't kill anyone. **

**Oh, jeez. I've uploaded three times today. What is wrong with me? **

**Can you tell I put it together in like an hour? Jeez. **

**Review anyways!**

**fangsallmine1123**


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